7 Reasons Why I Don’t Want a Job

I don’t want a job.

Don’t get me wrong, I love to work. It could be that my Ukrainian work ethic is genetic. Or, it might just be that I am defined by my work and want to make a difference. Regardless, I work hard and put in far more hours than most people would consider typical or healthy.

Despite all that, I’ve recently concluded I’m going to have to stick to being self-employed because I don’t want any of the jobs I’m seeing. Of course, it is tempting to think about a consistent pay cheque, not to mention regular work hours and paid vacations.

But, be that as it may, there are still at least seven reasons that make me twitch when I think about getting a job.

1. First of all, most jobs fall within a traditional hierarchy where decisions are made by people high on the management grid who quite often have the least amount of knowledge needed to make the best decision. I’m not seeing a lot of employers who empower employees to make the decisions that would contribute to a sense of ownership throughout the team. Those hierarchies also make it really hard to maximize the talent and passion of each employee because there are just too darned many other things to do that are part of your job description.

2. Having been self-employed, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to work again in a place where hires, fires, and promotions are based on seniority more than they are by merit. I’ve seen too many people who seem to have a real sense of entitlement just because they’ve worked somewhere the longest even though there were more talented employees who had been there for less time.

3. I’m also now very leery about the priority most employers seem to be placing on the education, skills, and experience showing on a resume. After all, you can always teach skills. On the other hand, it’s much more difficult to teach a work ethic, or being a quick-learner, resourceful, and creative. After all, the challenges in today’s workplaces are becoming more and more complex so isn’t it important to hire at least some people who think in a non-conventional way?

4. It also seems there are not enough employers who are comfortable with new ideas and new approaches. Too often they aren’t willing to experience the ambiguity, uncertainty, and chaos it sometimes takes in order to get to new ways of thinking, collaborating, and innovating.

5. While it is important to get a job if you’re lacking experience, the truth is most jobs provide extensive learning only in the beginning. After that it seems more typical for there to be a lot of repetition of the same experiences. Way too risky for me, as I’d rather be in a place where I have opportunities to learn, stretch, and grow every day.

6. Of course, most people also believe that a job is the most secure way to generate income. But you can’t have security if you don’t have control, and employees have the least control of anyone.

7. Lastly, the hardest part of a job is that sometimes you have to work with people you may not respect. When you’re self employed you typically have the option of walking away if you choose to do so. It’s different when you’re an employee because there just might be times when you find yourself responding to that person you don’t respect by saying, “Yes, boss.”